A Given
by Suiri
Summary: Usagi is on the road to self-destruction and it takes a certain prussian eyed pilot to knock some sense into her.


**AN: **I have writers block. This was the result of me trying to work through it, so don't take it too serious, ok? I went back and rewrote just little bites of it and fixed up any errors, I could find.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, just the plot. But what's that _really_ worth?

**

* * *

**

A Given

One-shot

* * *

On any given Friday night, Usagi would cuddle up to Mamoru on their forest green couch as Chibi-Usa slept upstairs. She would giggle at the comedy, sob at the sad, or give a dreamy sigh at the romantic movie that they had chosen for their date. It wasn't an actual date, when she thought on it. A real date involved going out. Watching their little girl bounce off the walls in a hyper mood was not her idea of a romantic evening. But their Fridays, which started small, grew to be something of a tradition, like how they spent every Christmas with her family and spent New Years with the senshi. Friday was a family thing, just her, her husband of two years, and her one-year-old daughter. As soon as the little chibi was asleep, the rest of the night belonged just her and Mamoru.

It wasn't easily being Doctor Chiba's wife. His erratic schedules kept him at the hospital all day and some nights. On some days Usagi only saw Mamoru for a total of five minutes before the young man left for work in the mornings. She wouldn't see him until he clambered into bed at three the next morning, exhausted. Once the alarm went off at eight, it would begin again with Mamoru quickly showering, kissing Chibi-Usa on the forehead, giving Usagi a breathless good-bye kiss before he left again. He worked in that fashion six days a week, leaving Usagi with the household and a child to rise, until Friday rolled around and he got a well-earned break.

Friday was precious to Mamoru as well. No emergency would call him away from the family he barely saw.

Everyday, Usagi counted her blessings. She was only twenty-one and she was the happiest woman in the world.

Was…

That was an ugly word. She _was_ the happiest woman in the world. Friday _was_ precious. Her life _was_ perfect.

She spent Friday nights alone now on the same forest green couch with a single glass of wine in her hands as she stared at the silent television set. One of her slender hands would touch the light depression on the couch were Mamoru's body used to sit by her. Reverting aback to the naivety she had when she was fifteen, she would pretend that Mamoru was still there, smiling at her.

'Cheers, Usako.'

"Cheers, Mamo-chan," she said. In one swallow, she had drain the glass empty, not flinching as the bitter taste of alcohol lodged in her throat. She hadn't cried once in the past two weeks or shed a single tear when she received the news. Mamoru Chiba, the miracle doctor, had died in a car crash while on his way to work one morning.

Her tears were long over due.

Usagi gave a loud cry of fury as she flung her glass at the television screen. She slid off the couch and onto the floor with her face buried her hands as she sobbed. She had kept her tears in all this time. She had to be strong for Chibi-Usa who already missed her father. The little girl couldn't understand why her father wasn't coming back and it was Usagi who painfully had to explain to her that he wasn't coming back.

"Ever?" Chibi-Usa had asked. Her bottom lips began to tremble. The little girl eventually understood, but it didn't stop the hurting they were both feeling.

She had sent Chibi-Usa earlier to Rei, so that her child wouldn't be there when she officially broke down. After sobbing her heart out, Usagi had shakingly made her way to the liquor cabinet where she proceeded to drink herself in to a stupor. For a few wild moments, she forgot about the pain and allowed her mind to take on the haze of colors that only heavy drinking could induce. She had passed out on the floor of the living room until the early light of the morning had streamed in through the window, gently touching her blond hair. Feeling the warmth of the light bluntly smack her in the face, she had groggily sat up and gasped when she felt her stomach lurch. She unsteadily got to her feet and stumbling her way to the bathroom. She was only seconds too late and had ended up vomiting on the tile floor, a foot away from the toilet. She had spent the entire day lying in bed with a hangover, pausing only briefly to call Rei to ask if Chibi-Usa could stay at the temple for another day.

Rei had agreed.

The next night had found Usagi indulging herself in the liquor cabinet again, trying to send her pain away. It never worked; the memories always found Usagi the next morning. The ghost of Mamoru refused to leave her even in her dreams. In her sleep, she always dreamt about his touches, his smiles, and his eyes. She continued to drink more and more as the days passed. After a few days of being with Rei, Usagi had sent Chibi-Usa off to Minako.

"I'll be glad to take Chibi-Usa." Minako's worried voice came on the other end of the phone receiver. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Usagi said. She hung up the phone. She grabbed the bottle that had an accustom place on her nightstand and took a deep swallow. After another week, she had sent Chibi-Usa off to Makoto and from there to Ami and from there, to Naru, to Umino, to anyone who was willing to take in the small child. It was obvious to every one that Usagi was heading on a one-way track to self-destruction, but there was nothing anyone could do. Usagi was beyond reason. One year will pass before someone finally managed to knock some sense into her.

Usagi's awaking came New Years Eve.

The tiding of new beginnings fell on a Friday.

Sitting on the rooftop of her apartment building, her original home long sold, Usagi sat on the ledge with her feet kicking out childishly as a bottle of full brim liquor sat inviting next to her. She watched as the cars tinkered below and the noise of the city wafted into the air. With shaking hands, she had reached out and picked up the bottle. Touching the brim to her lips, she was about to take a sip when a voice behind her startled her. She gave a small gasp as her world tilted and she began to fall from the ledge. A warm hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to safety. She silently stared with curiosity into a pair of cold Prussian eyes. The man's eyes traveled briefly to the bottle in her hand before he released her.

Usagi reclaimed her place on the ledge. She was surprised when he took a seat next to her and together they stared down at the traffic below in silence. When he reached out a hand she, without any words, passed him her bottle and watched as he took a drink.

"Alcohol is the ambrosia for people who want to forget," he said poetically.

"Hm?" Usagi reached out and snagged the bottle back. "Are you one of those people?"

"Once."

"Then you, my friend, and I have a lot in common," Usagi said. She could feel the buzz of the drink in her system and felt a bit cheerier. "Who do you want to forget?"

"Everyone."

Usagi's mouth formed a small circle. "Oh. Well, that's going to be hard to do."

"So I've realized," the man said. There was a touch of deadpan humor in his voice.

Usagi kick her foot out as her vision glazed slightly. Her voice took on a dreamy quality. "I want to forget so many things…"

"Like what?"

"Like what a bad mother I am. I haven't seen my little girl in a year. I tried to pull myself back together. I really did. I was sober for three months! But you know the saying, old habits die hard." She let out a loud, drunken giggle.

"Why did you go back?"

Usagi shrugged. "Life's too much of a hassle. When my husband was alive, he took care of all the bills and everything. When he died…everything fell apart." Usagi closed her eyes. "My little girl... She's living with my parents now. That was the only decent thing I could do for Chibi-Usa. If she had stay with me I was going to drag her down too." All seriousness vanished in a second and Usagi began to prant on about useless topics with the man as they sat there. She came close to falling off the ledge several times, but the man was always there to steady her. She spewed out more embarrassing secrets along the way, taking a swallow of her drink once in a while.

Then it happened.

She fell off the edge and this time, she hung over the side with the man's hand gasping one of hers as her only lifeline. She stared in stupor at the granite wall of her apartment building. She glanced down once, noticed all the cars below, and felt nauseous. She waited for the man to pull her up, but to her shock, he was motionless as she was suspend in midair. She glanced up and noticed that he was staring at her hand. The hand that still held on tightly to her precious bottle. He said nothing and waited as she weight her choice.

He was giving her an ultimatum.

Thinking through her daze, Usagi thought about Chibi-Usa, Rei, her mother, and father, and…she thought of Mamoru. What would he say if he saw her now? He would be so disappointed. Sobering up, Usagi felt the weight of regret that was held in her left hand. Making the choice, she threw the bottle up in the air and watched as the man caught the bottle. He tossed it over his shoulder. She heard it shattering, winching, as the man reached out his other hand and pulled her up. When she was standing on her feet, she trembled when she noticed the broken shards. A cell phone was pressed gently in her hand. Opening the top, Usagi shaking dial a familiar number.

"Hello?" A cheerful voice answered.

"Chiba-Usa, honey?" Usagi's voice trembled. "I'm coming back."

And maybe…Usagi thought as she heard her daughter squeal…Friday could still be a family thing. After all, Friday was a given.


End file.
